Twisted Reality Book 1: Trials
by JediGuy1490
Summary: The journey of a group of friends as they make their best of surviving in a post-apocolyptic world. It's unknown whether the more dangerous threat is the zombie-like afterdead or the underlying racism of other refugees, but they must unite to survive.
1. Chapter 1

_Twisted Reality_

Prologue

---------------------------------------

Yamin heard a small beeping and reached down to her waist to hit the "On" button for the Walkie-Talkie. Adjusting her headset, she said, "Go ahead, Kosh."

Kosh's voice sounded quiet and filled with static. "Yaz, have you had any word from Mikey or Jacen? I can't get either of 'em."

_'Just great,' _ Yamin thought, sighing. "No, haven't seen 'em. How's things up on your end," she asked, looking up high onto one of the factory's silos. She could just barely make out Kosh's figure, standing on the ring of railing that circled the silo.

"Can't find a thing," said Kosh. From where Yaz was, she could see that he was sitting down, legs dangling over the edge of the railing. He had his rifle laying next to him. "We might want to get going soon, though. It looks like it might storm. And you know how I hate getting my fur wet."

"Duly noted. C'mon down, I'll try and find them. The truck should get here in about ten minutes. Yaz out." She cut the connection, and could just make out Kosh stand, pick up his rifle, and start going down the long ladder. Scratching her head, she turned and looked down at Casey. He looked back up at her, a bored look on his face. "Well," Yamin said, looks like we get to go find Jacen and Mikey." Casey rolled his eyes and stood up, shaking the dust from his pants. "Where do these guys keep going, make-out point or something," he asked. "I mean, you'd think they'd have enough common sense to stay somewhere where we could at least radio them."

He's got a point, Yamin thought, and slowly began walking towards the far side of the factory compound, where Jacen and Mikey were supposed to be looking for seeds or other produce. Hefting her shotgun, Yaz looked down into her chest pocket and counted how many shells she had left. Not a lot, but enough for now. Glancing back, she saw Casey looking up at the sky, absent-mindedly fiddling with his pistol's holster. She looked up as well. The sky was a twisted, warped dome of reds, oranges, and greens, due in part from all of the radiation in the upper atmosphere. Sighing, Yamin kept walking, thinking of that not-so-long-ago time when one could look up and see blue and white.

"Jacen, Mikey, can you guys hear me," Yaz asked over the radio, which was tuned to the channel that Jacen's walkie-talkie was supposed to be on. All she got back was static. Swearing, she said, "When I get my hands on those two..." and left the sentence unfinished. Rounding a storage crate, she looked down as she stepped in a small puddle of dark liquid. Following it's trail with her eyes, Yamin stopped in her tracks. She let out a small scream as she saw Mikey and Jacen, their bodies torn apart and lying on the ground.

"Holy _shit_," Casey said, passing Yaz, who still stood in complete shock, and quickly ran over to the corpses. He knew he wouldn't find a pulse, but still tried anyway. Looking closer at the wounds, Casey saw various clawing and scratching, along with a bite mark here and there. Looking up at Yaz, he said, "Afterdead got 'em. They might still be close." Yamin just stood there, a tear falling down her cheek, and stared at the two bodies. Sighing, Casey reached over to close Jacen's eyes. The eyes were staring back at him.

"Oh, hell," Casey said. Jacen reached up and grabbed his arm. Yaz screamed. With his free hand, Casey tried to pull his pistol out of its holster, but not before he felt Jacen's teeth sink into his forearm. Yelling, Casey pulled away, leaving a mound of flesh and muscle in Jacen's mouth. Mikey reached over and grabbed Casey's boot, pulling him down.

"Casey!" Yamin screamed, pulling her shotgun to her shoulder.

"Run!" Casey said, finally freeing his pistol from its holster and turning it towards Mikey. Mikey's pale, bloody face looked at the barrel of the M9, and Casey pulled the trigger, sending flesh, blood, and bits of brain onto the pavement. He tried to turn to Jacen, but Jacen was already up, and he grabbed Casey by the shoulder and pulled. Casey used his pistol to bash the side of Jacen's face away, and aimed the gun at his old friend's forhead, pulling the trigger. Jacen went limp, falling to the ground. Casey looked back, and saw that Yamin heeded his advice and left. Looking down at his mauled left arm, he could see plenty of blood pouring out of it. Casey looked up to the sky, then brought the M9 to his temple. Sighing, he pulled the trigger.

Yamin was running like crazy towards the rally point, logic giving way to pure fear. She didn't check her corners, she didn't make sure to keep quiet, she just ran. Hitting her radio, she called for Kosh. He picked up quickly. "Yeah Yaz," he said.

"They're dead," she panted, still running, "They're all dead! Afterdead!"

"Get back here, now!" Kosh yelled over the radio. "Listen, the truck's gonna be here any second, you've got to-" The radio went to static.

"Kosh? Kosh!?" Yaz yelled, stopping. She quickly turned the tuning knob on the radio, trying to find the signal. She got back bits and peices. "How th.......ack, get ba........z, don't....un! You hav.......***Bang***"

Yamin was in a panic. Not thinking, she immediately ran into a small shed nearby. Bolting the door, she slowly backed into a wall and collapsed. Reaching for her walkie-talkie, she keyed it into the general distress channel. "This....this is Yamin of Delta. Someone....p-please help..." She sat there in the dark, repeating that short phrase, even as she began to hear footsteps outside and pounding on the door.

"Please....help."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1

A pillow flew from somewhere across the room and smacked Ryan in the face. Ryan looked up, with eyes only half-open, and saw Korin standing in the doorway. "Whutizit....." Ryan mumbled, his head falling back into the pillow.

Korin stepped into the large room, which was filled with other bunks but mostly empty, and walked over to Ryan's bed. He knew the rules that Keidran weren't allowed in the human bunks, but no-one really enforced the rule. Smacking Ryan with a pillow, he said, "C'mon. You don't want to sleep through breakfast _again_, do you? They're serving your favourite."

Ryan looked up from his pillow. "What favourite, they serve us the same slop every day." "Exactly," Korin retorted as he dropped the pillow on a nearby bed and walked back towards the door. "Oh," he said with a smile, looking back at Ryan, "postings are up."

Ryan's head popped up from the pillow, and he quickly jumped out of bed and into a pair of pants. Korin laughed and left the barracks, intending to wait for Ryan in the Mess Hall.

Ryan entered the Mess Hall a few minutes later. Looking around, he saw Korin sitting a few tables away, talking to Eric, one of the newer "Recruits." The only reason Ryan knew who Eric was was because he once saw the kid hit an afterdead from 100 yards in the dead of night. For a human, that was damn impressive. Walking over, Ryan sat down across from Korin and Eric, nodding to the latter before turning his attention to Kor. "So, what'd we get dealt?"

Eric interrupted before Korin could start talking. "I got put in Foxtrot. Not bad, but guess who got put in with me?" Ryan shrugged, and Eric continued, holding up two fingers, "Christian and Alex!" He mouthed the word "[censored]," after he said Alex's name, then stood up and walked away. "I'll see you guys later," he called.

"Well, he'll have some fun," Korin muttered as he turned to Ryan, a spoonful of food in his mouth. "I haven't opened it yet," he said, holding up an envelope. Ryan tried to snatch it out of the Keidran's hands, but the wolf was just too quick. "Nah ahh," he said, "me first." Tearing open the envelope, Korin looked at the short letter inside and muttered under his breath.

"Well," asked Ryan. Korin looked up with a sloppy smile on his face. Ryan, no longer able to wait, grabbed the note out of Korin's paws. Written in fine, rehearsed writing was a note:

_The following is a roster for the newly formed Delta Squad:  
Squad Leader: Mikhial Holzhoff  
Assistant Leader: Nianika Holzhoff  
Squad Demolition: Korin of the Wolf Tribe  
Squad Long-Range Support: Malini of the Wolf Tribe  
Squad Medic: Ryan Mandell  
Squad Mage: Kathrin of the Fox Tribe_

Please meet, fully equipped, in the briefing room at noon.

Reading down the list a few more times, Ryan looked up at Korin with a grin of his own. "You're happy that you got Demo, aren't you?" Korin nodded his head vigorously, his smile widening slightly. Looking at the bottom of the list, he said, "When did they start adding Mages to the squads?"

Korin shrugged. "I think it's just for extra protection. Plus, there aren't that many left, so we might as well take what we can get."

"Right." Ryan looked at the bottom of the note. "C'mon, we've got some time to kill, and now I'm excited. Lets go get our toys," he said, laughing.


	3. Chapter 3

"Okay...Let's see here," said Ryan as he looked through his medical bag, a green messenger bag with a medic's cross on front. He and Korin were winding their way through the small, dirty streets that separated the compact housing units, slowly making their way towards the center of town where the small, independent military unit known as Far-cry helped run things. Korin was toting a bag filled with various tools and wires, mostly for explosive purposes; around his waist was a string of grenades, and how he snuck those away from the quartermaster Ryan had no idea. Slung over Korin's shoulder was an older 870CMS, it's black metal grayed with dust and bits of rust.

Ryan looked up in time to avoid running straight into a small water barrel, and then diverted his attention back down to the medical bag. Sifting through it with his hands, he occasionally pulling things out, examining them in the light, and re-storing them in a way he saw fit. "Medical tape....I think this is morphine, does this look like morphine," asked Ryan, holding up a small vial filled with clear liquid to Korin. He shrugged. "Whatever," said Ryan, and kept digging. "No.... scalpel. Hmm, I guess I'll have to improvise," Ryan joked, reaching into his pocket to find his switchblade knife. Taking it out, he clicked the knife's release, and looked at the 4-inch blade in the light.

"Watch it," said Korin, who grabbed Ryan's shoulder to prevent him from running into an older woman. Quickly apologizing, Ryan closed the bag up and walked forward. Korin rolled his eyes and followed, the two of them nearing the center of town.

The "command," area was vastly different from the surrounding town. It was cleaner, looked nicer, and there was the small matter of an armed military presence in the area. After going through security, Korin and Ryan were directed to a small tent outside of city hall. As they walked in, they looked around and saw six more people already in the tent. Two were Keidran, both female, and four were human, three men and one woman. They all looked up at the two newcomers, and Ryan, looking from one face to another, quickly asked, "Uhh....are we late?"

One of the men looked down at his watch, and said in a low, gruff voice, "Yeah, by about ten minutes."

Choosing to sit down instead of talk, Ryan and Korin quickly took their seats as one of the men, an older gentlemen of about 50, stood and looked at the others. "Well, now that we have everyone here," he said, casting a quick glance to Ryan, "we might as well begin. My name is Captain James Bower, and this," he said, gesturing towards a second, younger man, " is my subordinate, Staff-Sergeant William Norman. We are the commanders in charge of the expeditionary and retrieval forces, which you have just joined. Your purpose will be to find supplies within the surrounding area, simple as that. We don't have a schedule, a quota, or whatever. We're just the guys that your Squad Leader reports to. Speaking of which, lets introduce the squad. Sergeant, if you would," he said, motioning to the third man, who stood and turned to the others.

He was a somewhat tall, strong looking man, maybe in his mid-thirties, with handsome swashes of gray hair just starting to show at his temples. He carried himself with the standard military demeanor, back straight, head level, eyes forward, feet together. He had a small scar over his right eye, and the lobe of his right ear was missing. "I am Sergeant Mikhail Holzhoff, your commander-in-chief. This," he said, waving his hand towards the woman who was sitting next to him, "is Nianika Holzhoff, my second in command. You will answer to us and only us unless I tell you otherwise."

Mikhail sat back down, and Bower waved his hand towards the rest of them, giving them the go-ahead to stand and introduce themselves. One of the two women Keidran stood. She as a tall, white-furred wolf, who couldn't have been much older or younger than Korin. She had bandages wrapped around the left side of her face. The wolf was dressed in a not-too-loose fitting white tanktop, and a pair of black cargo shorts, with a hole cut in the back for her tail. "I am," she said, with an even, emotionless voice, "Malini, squad sniper." She quickly sat back down, apparently either uncomfortable in front of groups or she just didn't care. The second woman, a younger Fox Keidran, stood. She spoke in a higher, sing-song voice that Ryan almost found captivating, the slightest hint of excitement leaking through. "I'm Kathrin, the squad mage." She too sat down, and Korin stood up and introduced himself. While Korin was talking, Ryan looked over at Mikhail. He could see a veiled look of anger, which quickly vanished when Korin was done and Ryan stood up to introduce himself.

After all was said and done, Bower resumed his place. "Now that that's out of the way, I'll turn you over to your Sergeant. But let me warn you," he said, a grave look coming onto his face. "The badlands are a dangerous place, of that have no doubt. Be smart, stick together, and you won't end up like the last Delta Squad." Nodding to Mikhail, Bower and Norman left.

Mikhail stood and said, "Meet at the North gate in half an hour. Dismissed."


	4. File Footage 1

_// Accessing File Footage -- Log B  
- Waiting....  
- Waiting....  
// Access Granted.  
_

_  
// File Footage 1426-2JX5-29-A Recovered_

***Play***

Date: Unknown. Estimated 3 years Before the Exchange (BTE)

"This is Doctor Githany Altaise, beginning video log of 'Project Wildfire.'" The screen showed the face of an attractive young woman, somewhere in her twenties. Behind her are various people in lab coats, both Human and Keidran. "Personally, I don't know why the 'feds are even considering this kind of research. It's completely preposterous. I mean, really, who are they to think that we can create some kind of 'Fountain of Youth,' to keep people alive forever?"

She sighs. "Well, it's not my money they're wasting. First tests were obviously inconclusive. We attempted using a Bi-Oxide solution mixed with some genetically-altered plant DNA used in most fruits to give them a longer shelf life." Githany twirled her finger. "Nada. We'll be running tests for the rest of the day, so....Dr. Altaise out."

***End***

_// Accessing File Footage -- Log M  
- Waiting....  
- Waiting...._

// Access Denied! The Log is restricted. Please enter valid code.

-  
=Warning= Foreign Program Detected!  
// File Foot-aks-%2215^%#^#^

...

// Access Granted

__

// Military Log 92XB-18L-JK3-TL0-H Recovered

_  
_***Play***

_Helm-Cam of PFC Richard Lewis_  
Date: 5 Months BTE

The helmet cam josteled around as the wearer dove behind a rock. Looking around, the camera turned to see the image of two other soldiers, dressed in forest-camo uniforms, running towards him and crouching behind the same rock cover. "Sarge, Sir, the Kays have machine-gun boxes up ahead," came the voice of someone close to the camera, supposedly PFC Lewis. "Jenkins and Lopez are down!"

The older of the two soldiers, a man who looked in his mid-thirties, swore. "Lewis, Vale, I want covering fire on our six. Corpsman," said the sergeant to someone to the camera's right, "Radio command and tell them the coordinates."

The camera turned back towards where it had come from. On top of a small hill could be seen an even smaller bunker, with sporadic weapons fire coming from inside. A few soldiers were outside, firing from inside of a trench. The barrel of an M16-B rose out of the bottom-right corner of the screen and began firing back. "Got one," said Lewis as one of the enemy soldiers fell. The metallic clicking of gunfire filled the air, and Lewis had to duck back behind the rock, the sound of bullets bouncing off rock becoming prevalent. A small whistle from overhead diverted the camera's attention, because the view suddenly became a vibrant blue sky with a few white clouds in the air. Turning back towards the fighting, the camera caught the first of the mortar shells falling, blowing huge chunks out of the ground and the enemy bunker. Lewis yelled, and sprang from his hiding spot just as the mortar rounds stopped falling.

Running through the smoke, the camera came to focus upon a wounded Keidran. His left leg was blown completely off--the by-product of one of the shells. The Keidran, however, was trying to bring his sidearm to bare. The M16's barrel appeared in camera again, and the gun sputtered, emptying a few rounds into the Keidran's chest. The soldier fell to the ground in a bloody heap. "Rally up!" said the voice of the Sergeant, and the camera turned back to see the rest of the squad forming up near him. Lewis jogged over, camera shaking all the way, and came to a stop in front of the Sergeant. "Scrounge up weapons and ammo. We're meeting up with Bravo a little ways North. Seems like they've got some Kay trouble. Move out."  
**  
*End***


	5. Chapter 5

The North Gate was one of the only two ways out of the city. Compared to the West Gate, it was safer all around, as well as there being an open field for a few dozen yards before wreckage or things of that nature got in the way. A small pile of bodies was placed at the far edge of the field, some of them raiders, but most afterdead. All had holes of various sizes in their heads.

By the time Ryan and Korin arrived at the gate's door, Malini and Kathrin were already there, talking quietly to each other. It looked like Mikhail and Nianika hadn't gotten there yet. They had some time to talk without worrying about their new bosses.

Ryan noticed right away that both of the women had changed clothes. Malini, though still wearing her white tanktop, but on top of that she wore a gray pair of light, triangular, cloth shoulder pads. The pads' stitching wrapped around her collarbone and out past her shoulders a good inch or two, with a small pad draping down over the socket of her right shoulder. Along with these she wore a pair of longer, tight black pants, with a pair of gray cloth kneepads that matched the shoulder pads. Around her waist was a small bag on her right hip and what looked like a large knife on her right. The blade was almost as long as Ryan's forearm, but the grip seemed like it would fit comfortably within Malini's large hands.

Kathrin hadn't changed her clothes much, but it was noticeable. She was wearing a long, dark brown robe with a pair of tan pants beneath. Most of her blue T-shirt was covered up by her robe, but what Ryan noticed the most was the amount of jewelry that she was wearing. Interwoven within the cuffs of her robe were a variety of crystals of various sizes, though most were fairly small. She wore similar crystals around her neck in an simple yet elegant necklace. As she turned to look at them walking, Ryan noticed that she had a small bag strapped to her back, and, as the flaps of her robe moved with her, a pistol holstered to her side.

Korin made the first move. "Hello, ladies," he said, walking nonchalantly up to them. Malini gave him a cold look, but Kathrin smiled a little and waved. "I don't consider the tent a proper greeting, so let me introduce myself: I'm Korin," he said, taking a small bow. Ryan rolled his eyes and followed Korin.

"I'm Kathrin," she said, nodding slightly to respond to Korin's bow. Turning to Ryan, she said, "So, you're our medic," she asked with a small smile on her face. Ryan nodded and she simply giggled a little, saying, "Hope you know what you're doing."

Korin intervened before Ryan could respond. "Are you kidding me? This guy knows everything there is to know! They were practically _begging_ him to join."

"I'm nothing special," Ryan said, blushing slightly at Korin's compliments.

Malini finally talked. "As long as you keep me in one piece I could care less how good you are." Kathrin shot Malini a sarcastic look, and turned back to the others. She looked like she was about to say something when she closed her mouth and looked past Ryan. Turning around, Ryan saw Mikhail and Nianika approaching. They were both dressed in pre-exchange era military uniforms.

Mikhail spoke first. "Now that we're away from command," he said, stopping in front of the group, "lets get one thing straight. I am in charge. You listen to me without question. If I tell any of you worthless _animals_ (Kathrin visibly winced as he emphasized animals) to take a bullet, you'd better well do it. Now, move out."

With that, Mikhail pushed his way through the group and past the gate's guard, walking out of the walls of the city. Nianika was close behind him. Looking from one person to another, Ryan saw that Malini and Kathrin were looking at each other, stunned into silence, and Korin stared at Mikhail with a mixed look of hurt, confusion, and anger. "Well," said Ryan sarcastically, braking the silence, "won't this be fun," and he began to follow Mikhail and Nianika, grabbing Korin's shoulder along the way. "Don't let him get to you," he said. Out of his peripheral vision, Ryan saw Malini sigh and pick up her rifle, throwing an arm over Kathrin's shoulder and whispering something in her ear. Kathrin smiled a little and nodded her head and the two walked with Ryan and Korin towards where Mikhail and Nianika were waiting.


	6. Chapter 6

The dry, cracked ground crunched beneath Korin's feet. _Pompous [censored]_ he thought, staring at the back of Mikhail's helmeted head. He remembered what Ryan had told him. "_Don't let him get to you_." Korin smirked dryly. There was no way in hell that he was going to let this guy get to him, but he wasn't about to lay down and let this guy walk all over him. Absentmindedly, he unslung his 870, holding the grip in his right hand and the barrel pointed down and to his left. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Kathrin and Malini talking quietly. _Those two are quite the pair, aren't they..._ he thought, his mind slipping momentarily from Mikhail as he looked over Kathrin in his peripheral vision. Looking back forward, he saw that Mikhail and Nianika stopped about ten feet ahead. Walking up behind them, Korin took great pride in the fact that he was at least half a foot taller than the both of them. "What is it," he asked.

Mikhail didn't reply, but Nianika answered for him. "Rotters. Five of them, maybe twenty feet down the hill." Korin followed her gaze, and, sure enough, there was a small group of Afterdead eating...._something._ He couldn't tell what it was from this position, but he had an uneasy feeling that he wasn't going to like the answer. The rest of the group walked up behind Korin. "What is it?" Malini asked, even as she looked over Korin's shoulder and saw the small group of Afterdead, still eating away at the corpse. Ryan and Kathrin joined Malini, both looking at the small group. A disgusted look crossed over Kathrin's face.

Mikhail cleared his throat. "Sniper," he said in a low, gravelly voice, "Take 'em out." Malini opened her mouth, apparently about to retort, but Kathrin made a slight motion with her hand and she closed it. Shrugging, Malini slipped the rifle off her shoulder and began to move a few feet in front of the group. It was an older model, a semi-auto .22 model, with a dulled, stained wooden stock. The barrel, in contrast, seemed jet black, a nice, metallic shine coming off of it. It looked like Malini had gone over it with a magnifying glass and a brush, or something along the lines, because there wasn't a speck of rust on it.

When she was about three feet in front of the squad, she moved over by a small pile of rubble. Peaking over it to make sure the Afterdead hadn't seen her, she shouldered her rifle and cocked it. From where Korin was standing, he couldn't be sure, but it looked like she was muttering something under her breath as she lined up the sites. Placing her finger gently over the trigger, she hesitated for a few heartbeats, and then fired. One of the Afterdead dropped to the ground an instant later, a small hole in the back of his head pouring out a black, viscous ooze. The rest of the rotters looked up, looking for the source of the gunshot. Another shot rang out, and a second Afterdead was blown backwards, the shot bursting through it's right eye and out the back of his head.

The remaining three Rotters began to slowly trudge towards the group, after having finally seen the muzzle flash from Malini's rifle. A third shot rang out, then a fourth, separated by maybe half a second. Two of the three fell dead, a hole in the center of their heads. The last one was still maybe eight feet in front of the group, and, as Malini reloaded, Korin noticed that this Afterdead looked familiar. He was a Keidran, maybe twelve or so years old. The side of his face had been eaten off, the muscles exposed, and there appeared to be a bite taken out of his right hand. Some of the hair on and around his face had fallen off, the rest matted together in what looked like an advanced form of mange. His eyes were a milky blue, and there was a scar over the right one. Korin looked at that scar hard, thinking.

_No...._ realization dawned on him. Pushing Nianika out of the way, Korin quickly shouldered his 870. "Get your _[censored]_ back here," yelled Mikhail, reaching up for Korin's shoulder. Korin shrugged him off, continuing to quickly move forward. Malini, finally reloaded, looked up at Korin in confusion. "What in the world-"

Korin ignored her. Reaching the zombie, he shoved the barrel of the shotgun in it's face, between its eyes. The Rotter tried to reach around the gun, but Korin was too far back. "Sorry, Kosh," he said, and pulled the trigger. The blowback knocked the shotgun's stock back into Korin's shoulder, but wasn't anything compared to what happened to Kosh. The 12-gague buckshot practically blew his head off, bits of blood, flesh, and meat flying backwards in a cloud of black-crimson blood spray. Kosh's body flew backwards a good four feet, coming to a rest in a bloody pulp, the bottom flap of his jaw the only thing remaining of his head.

Pumping his shotgun, Korin looked at Kosh's body with disgust and remorse. Shouldering the 870, he moved back to the group. He ignored the questioning looks of Malini, Kathrin, and Ryan, along with the anger practically boiling out of Mikhail. at least, he tried to, anyway. Mikhail threw out a meaty fist and knocked Korin square in the jaw, throwing his head to the right. "Don't you _ever_ disregard orders again," Mikhail spat at Korin, his voice icy cold. "Now come on. We have work to do."

The group walked past the spot where Kosh's body lay, and Korin hung back, glancing quickly at Mikhail and Nianika. Reaching down, he lifted up the front of Kosh's shirt, searched around, and found what he was looking for. Pulling, he snapped the chain, and brought up a small necklace. It was a simple gold chain, with a small, unadorned golden ring hanging around it. "Don't worry, mate," Korin said quietly, standing and looking back at the body one more time. "She'll still get it."


End file.
